Truth from the heart
by dax0042
Summary: This is request rewrite from Dawn walker wolf. Pack law keeps Humphrey and Lilly from being with the ones that they love, but when it is changed Humphrey must find out who he really is. Adventure awaits him and his friends. Please leave reviews.
1. Truth be told from the heart

ALPHA AND OMEGA: TRUTH FROM THE HEART

Humphrey sat down on the cliff behind Kate and Garth's future den. It was hard to believe that Kate didn't tell him that she was getting married—married to a real jerk. Garth was not right for her, he was big, strong, rude, and his howl was the worst thing he had ever heard. But there was nothing he could do about it now, because she was marrying him to bring peace, nothing more, nothing less.

As Lilly helped her sister get ready for her wedding, Kate wondered if she should have told the truth about her love for Humphrey. It was hard to believe that she was going to live a life with someone she didn't love, and it hurt deeply. Kate looked down where she could see the eastern and western wolves streaming into the valley. "Wow, that's a big crowd," she muttered, trying to control her queasiness.

Lilly looked up from brushing her sister's fur. "Yeah, good times," she replied. The two of them had shared a tender reunion, but they didn't speak much. Kate thought that Lilly was hiding something from her, but what? It wasn't Lilly's way to hide something from her. There was something else different, too, but Kate couldn't figure out what.

"So what happened while I was gone?" she asked, trying to keep their conversation going.

Lilly stopped again. "Not much," she sighed.

Kate tried again. "So, I heard that you and Garth spent some time together."

Just then Lilly tugged a little too hard on Kate's coat, eliciting an "Ow!" from her and a quick apology from Lilly.

"So what's Garth really like?" Kate asked, not seeing Lilly narrow her eyes in anger at hearing her sister say his name. "I'm sure he's going to be a good mate, have a bunch of pups and live happily ever after, right?

That drew the line for Lilly. Crunch! She bit down on the pinecone so hard that it shattered it into many pieces. "Well, if you like that sort of thing," she replied bitterly. "Big, brawny, handsome, and perfect." Kate twisted around to study her sister-and realized what else was different.

"Lilly, you're wearing your fur back!" It was true-Lilly had always let her forelock hang over her eyes, but she was letting the world see her lovely violet eyes, and now they were filling with tears.

"Sorry, I know, it looks awful," Lilly muttered, clawing the fur back down over her eyes. Then she ran off, crying.

"But I liked it, Lilly," Kate called out to her sister, but she was gone.

As Lilly ran down through the valley, her crying attracted the attention of her mother. Eve saw how upset she was, and decided to find out what was causing it.

Down by the stream, Garth's father Tony saw how upset his son was, but he mistook it for the stress of being rushed into a wedding with Kate.

"Now Garth, I know it's kind of sudden, but you're doing the right thing," he said, but all he got was a frown.

"Am I doing the right thing?" he replied bitterly, "I'm not in love with Kate, so how can it be the right thing if my heart belongs to someone else?" Tony just laughed.

"Don't tell me you're in love with that omega wretch."

Garth then struck his father across the face, very hard and it left three small streaks that could easily be seen. "She is not a wretch!" he shouted. Tony had never been struck by anyone other than his wife. "Lilly is the one that makes my life worth living, but I will marry Kate to unite the packs." Then Garth ran off, leaving his father to care for the scratches on his face.

Garth ran all the way to where Lilly had made him laugh when she first started to show him around the area. "Why did my grandfather make such law that prevents alphas and omegas from mating!?" Garth shouted, clawing the ground in front of him. "I hate this pack law." He could only think about one wolf, Lilly. She had stolen his heart, and now he was going to break hers by marrying her sister. Turning to leave, he came face to face with Lilly.

"Garth, I know what this is doing to you, because I just tried to do something to make the pain go away," she held out her right paw into the sun light for him to see something that hurt him even more. There was more than one claw mark across her wrist and her white fur was crimson red.

"Lilly, don't ever do this to me, because the thought of you trying to kill yourself... only... I," Garth couldn't say any more. His heart was broken, and Lilly was trying to leave this world.

"Garth, please don't marry Kate," Lilly begged loudly as tears ran down her cheeks. "I am the one that you love- don't do this me."

Garth rubbed his head against her soft fur. "I must marry your sister, but I will never sleep with her, because the one I should be married to is you." Lilly smiled and asked him, "Garth, do you love me?"

"Yes, I love you, I will always love you," he replied kissing her gently on the cheek. "My love for you will last even in death, no matter what the law says, it can't stop me from loving you." With that, Garth pressed his lips against Lilly's lips.

It was a few hours later before all the wolves from both packs gathered to see the marriage of Garth and Kate. The two of them did not want to go along with this, but they had to. Two other wolves who didn't want to be there were suffering as well, Humphrey and Lilly.

Lilly felt her heart ripping in two as she saw Garth walk onto the flat boulder in the center of the valley.

"So," Garth asked Kate quietly, "are you ready?"

Kate nodded. She had to be ready, but it would never be the same.

"So, you want to start this thing or should I?" Garth asked her with a fake smile that hid the sorrow in his heart.

"We'll start together," Kate decided. That was the whole point, after all. Uniting the packs.

Humphrey sat sadly next to Lilly as they watched Kate and Garth sniff one another, nuzzle each other's ear and pull back to do the last part. The last part was rubbing noses. Once they did that, they would be mates for life. The packs would be united, and so would they. Forever.

However, another wolf had decided against pack law. Eve looked at Kate and Garth with sadness. They both were in love with someone else, and this marriage would ruin their lives. She had to stop this from happening, and maybe peace would still come to the packs.

"I'm so sorry Humphrey," Kate said to herself, tears were running down her cheeks as her nose came closer to Garth's. If she had looked back, Kate would have seen Humphrey run off toward the train tracks.

"Lilly, forgive me!" Garth voice screamed inside his head as his nose almost touched Kate's nose.

"Hold it!" someone shouted from the crowd. All the wolves looked and saw Eve walk up on the flat boulder to address the two packs.

"My friends, we all have made a mistake. The mistake was making a law about alphas and omegas not being able to marry. I now see the truth..." Eve said loudly, with her head up high to show that she was not afraid to speak out against the law. "The truth is that... that my daughter Lilly, who is an omega, loves Garth, who is an alpha." The crowd went into an uproar, but Eve went on speaking.

"We have no right to keep these two from loving one another. Garth and Lilly are meant to be together, the law must be changed," Eve said calmly, but now it was time to make the two packs listen to her and destroy the old law. "And if any of you wolves say no to them, I will break your spines and let the crows eat your eyes!" Eve shouted at the top of her lungs. The packs went silent, not a sound was heard from them.

"Mom," Kate said stepping forward, "I love Humphrey the omega, and I agree with you about changing the law," she turned to crowd of wolves who were keeping quiet because of Eve's threat. "Does anyone share that idea that the law must be changed?"

Tony now saw the truth as well; alphas and omegas did have the right to be married, and he was the first to speak. "I have heard a lot of things in my life but... I was wrong to hurt my son Garth by forcing him into this marriage. I give Lilly my blessing to become my daughter-in-law."

The minute Lilly heard that Tony would allow her and Garth to be mates, she rushed up to him and tackled him to the ground. Garth looked up at her with a smile and they kissed. The whole pack cheered, knowing that peace would still happen and they would unite as one pack. Then Kate remembered Humphrey, she looked around for him in the crowd of wolves, but didn't see him and it frightened her to think that she would never see him again.

"Mom, Humphrey is gone!" Kate cried. Eve saw that her daughter was right, Humphrey was gone, so she turned to Hutch.

"Take your boys and bring Humphrey back to where Kate choose," Eve ordered swiftly. Hutch turned to Kate, awaiting his orders from her.

"Bring him to the den that was meant for Garth and I," Kate said. With that, Hutch took his best wolves to find Humphrey. It wasn't hard to find the omega's scent, but could they stop him from leaving.

Humphrey was nearing the train tracks; he was no longer going to stay here were his heart would always be in pain for losing Kate. As he rushed toward the train, something landed on top of him. Looking up he saw Hutch and two other alphas.

"Humphrey, you are ordered to return to our pack, because Kate wishes to speak with you," Hutch demanded. Humphrey looked up, surprised that Kate wanted to see him. "Ok, I will go to her, but after that I'm gone." he said.

It was night time before Humphrey arrived at what he thought was Kate and Garth's den, but he didn't see Garth. Inside the den was Kate, waiting anxiously for him. "Here he is, Kate," Hutch said, holding his head up proudly.

Kate smiled. "You may leave, Hutch and take your alphas with you." Hutch bowed his head to her. "As you wish," he said, and off he went leaving Humphrey alone with Kate.

"Kate, I hope you have a happy life with Garth," Humphrey lied, a fake smile on his face, but Kate wasn't falling for it.

"No, I can see your eyes," Kate said softly, "and I know that my heart is for another wolf, not Garth." Humphrey began to feel something; it was his heart speeding up. "And just who is this wolf?" he asked, a ping of hope beginning to grow.

"You."

"Me?!" Humphrey gasped. "You never told me that you were going to marry Garth, and then we howled at the moon together, but even then you never told me that you loved me."

Kate had not told him why she had to get back home, but there was a chance to heal his broken heart. "My heart burns with sadness for not telling you. If there was any wolf I wanted as a mate it was you."

Humphrey's eyes were full of tears. "Kate," he said sniffling a little. "I want you to know that I love you."

"I love you too, Humphrey," Kate said. Then the two of them looked deeply into one another eyes. They both leaned forward and connected their muzzles into a deep and passionate kiss. They loved every second of what they were doing. Humphrey then pulled away and started licking the side of Kate's muzzle, then he started kissing her neck and licking it lovingly, but she stopped him from going any further.

"Humphrey, we should wait until after we become mates," Kate said with a happy, but lustful smile. Humphrey was shocked, did Kate just say mates? He could hardly hold back his excitement as he tried to get his mind on what he heard.

"Did your mom and dad talk to Tony about changing the law?" Humphrey asked happily, Kate nodded. "My mom was the one that got the law changed. She can be very persuasive when she needs to be."

That night, Humphrey could hardly get any sleep, because he was finally going to get to be with the wolf of his dreams, Kate. As he walked around his den, Garth came in.

"Humphrey, can I talk to you" he asked nervously.

"Sure," Humphrey said.

"I wanted to say I'm sorry for calling you a coyote the first time we met," Garth said looking a little gloomy, "I was wrong to insult you and if we are to become brothers, I would like to know that we are all right with each other now."

Humphrey smiled and accepted his future brother-in-law's apology. "You're forgiven and I'm sorry for making fun of you. I only did it because I was jealous that Kate was going to hang out with you."

From that time on, Garth and Humphrey became very close, they no longer saw each other as rivals, but as brothers. It was the start of a growing family and the start of a new adventure.


	2. Good or bad day, you decide that

The next morning, Humphrey awoke with a smile on his face. Today was the day he and Kate would be mates for life. He left the den to see that the sun was shining brightly, there were no clouds in the sky, and a gentle breeze was in the air.

"This will be a day I long remember," he said aloud to himself, "Kate and I will marry, and Garth will be with Lilly. It is too good to be true." Humphrey hurried off to get cleaned up, and Garth joined him.

Not too far off, Kate sat waist-deep in the stream, washing her body to get herself ready for Humphrey. Not one word could describe how happy she was. She and Humphrey were going to be mates in only a few more hours. The thought excited her, her body started to shake a little, and she started to feel a little nervous.

"I hope Humphrey likes the way I look…," she said to herself as she rubbed water through her tail. "Who are you kidding? Of course, he will love it," Lilly said joining her sister in the stream.

"Lilly, I didn't know that you were here, I thought you were with mom," Kate said, giving her sister a hug.

"Yeah, mom got me all ready, but we are missing Reba and Janice's flower necklaces that they plan to let us wear for the wedding," Lilly said cheerfully.

Kate smiled at the sound of flower necklaces. She even heard that Marcel and Paddy were going to fly over and drop rose petals for the wedding, but then she remembered something. Humphrey. _What would it be like having him as a mate? Will he be a good, loving father and mate? _She hoped so.

"Kate, can I ask you a…kind of a personal question, if you don't mind?" Lilly said nervously. Kate nodded. "Did you love Humphrey before you became an alpha?"

"Yes, I loved him, but it was not the love I have for him now," Kate admitted. Lilly saw her sister blushing, but knew it was a good sign.

As Garth and Humphrey had their fur combed, Eve and Winston showed up and they didn't look very happy.

"What's wrong?" Humphrey asked. "Is Lilly alright?" Garth gasped.

Eve stepped forward. "Humphrey, there is something you need to know before you marry Kate," she said with a sigh. Humphrey cocked his head. "What do I need to know?"

Eve looked up at him. "You... you never were a western wolf," she said softly. Humphrey was shocked, as well as Garth. "Winston found you floating in a box a few days before Kate was born. I had an omega nurse you and get you back to full strength. We had no idea were you came from, so you were adopted into our pack."

"Why wasn't I told about this?" Humphrey asked, trying to make out what was going through his mind. "I mean, why tell me this now?"

Winston looked at his future son-in-law sadly. "Because last night a wolf from the north came and told us that your pack wishes to have you back. We didn't want to tell Kate about it, for it would break her heart to know that you would have to leave and never come back."

"You can't do this to him!" Garth snapped. "He is getting married today!" Eve glared at Garth for his outburst.

"You need to hear the last part," she said with growl, "Humphrey will not be going alone, because we are sending you, Kate, Lilly, Salty, Shaky and Mooch with him on this journey." Garth and Humphrey were still shocked, but they were glad that this wasn't a lone wolf thing.

Eve and Winston walked up to Humphrey and hugged him tightly. "Humphrey, this is the last time we will ever see you or Kate. You have always made us proud. Now take care of Kate while you are gone... son," Eve said softly in his ear.

"Never forget who you are Humphrey," Winston said, "you are our son now, always remember that."

"I will never let the family down," Humphrey said, as tears filled his eyes. Garth put his paw on Humphrey's shoulder. "Come on, we have a wedding to start before we go north," he said with a smile.

Down in the valley, Kate and Lilly were waiting anxiously for Garth and Humphrey to show up. Tony walked back and forth, starting to get really angry. If his son had no respect for time, then what was the point of getting married?

"There they are," Shaky said, "and boy, do they look good." The two packs turned to see Garth and Humphrey walking toward their future mates.

"Hey, does Humphrey look a little different to you?" Mooch asked, seeing the look in his best friends eyes. Salty and Shaky looked at him, Mooch was right, Humphrey seemed rather nervous.

"Hey, it's his wedding day," Salty said. "He is just a little excited." If he had known what was really bothering Humphrey, then he and his friends would have been ready for the shock of their life.

Garth, Humphrey, Kate and Lilly were finally mates for life when their noses touched. The packs went wild. Their cheers could be heard for miles. A big party was held and everybody celebrated-all except Humphrey and Garth. It was midday now, and Kate wanted to know why her husband and brother-in-law, Garth weren't all that happy.

"Humphrey, I know that something is bothering you and Garth," Kate said. "I'll tell you at the den, but first get Salty, Shaky and Mooch because they need to hear what I have to say," Humphrey said, walking off to the den.

At the den, Salty confronted Humphrey. "All of us want to know what is going on, Humphrey," he demanded.

"This morning Eve and Winston told me that I have to go north... back to my old pack," Humphrey said, "and you all are coming with me." When he finished, Kate stepped forward with an angry frown.

"We can't leave," Kate protested, "Humphrey, you and I just got back and became mates. Now you say we have to go on another journey?" Lilly stepped forward. "And not to mention that mating season is only four days away."

"Yeah," Mooch said, agreeing with Kate and Lilly. He was not happy about going north on some wild goose chase. Garth stood up with a dark glare at Mooch. "You call yourself his friend? Humphrey has always been there for you. And you two," he said turning to face Salty and Shaky, "he even tried to help you guys find dates for the moon light howl and this is how you repay him-by sitting on your butts? I may not want to go on this trip, but I know that family sticks together. So what do you say, are you with us are not?"

The three omegas thought hard on this. Humphrey was their best friend, and it wasn't right that he and Garth should go alone. Kate looked at Humphrey and at Lilly. Her sister walked up to her mate and gave him a smile.

"When we became mates I made an oath saying that I would go wherever you go," Lilly said giving Garth a kiss on the cheek. "We are going to have a family, even if it is on this journey." Garth smiled happily at his mate. She had just proven that she had the bravery of an alpha.

"I'm in," Shaky said, taking a seat next to Garth and Lilly. "Humphrey has been on one adventure without us, so I'm going."

"Yeah, I mean, what's the point of going if you can't have friends to watch your back?" Mooch said, joining the others next to Humphrey. "Also, we may meet some pretty she-wolves along the way."

"If there are girls out there for me, then I'm with you as well," Salty said. Everyone looked at Kate, not sure what her answer would be, but they hoped that she would come along.

Kate looked at them all. "I will not leave Humphrey, because we are now mates for life," she said smiling. "Besides, I've always wanted to go north." Everybody was happy that she was coming along, but it would be hard for the omegas to make this trip. They didn't know how to defend themselves, they only knew how to keep the peace. However, Garth and Kate were going with them, so they had some protection, but they would have to learn how to protect themselves along the way.

"All right," Humphrey said looking at his group. "We leave first thing in the morning, but for right now, let's go and have some fun." Kate and Lilly went to say goodby to their parents. Mooch, Salty, Shaky and Humphrey went log sledding for the last time before they would leave the valley and Garth went to say goodby to his father.

Later that night, Garth could not sleep well, because he feared that the journey would be too hard on his sweet flower, Lilly. Looking over he saw the moonlight shining through the den entrance on his sleeping mate. The moonlight made her look like a sleeping angel. Lilly's beauty overwhelmed him. Garth stared at her for a long time before she woke up.

"Garth," Lilly said with a yawn, "why aren't you asleep yet?" she asked, walking over to him. Garth looked at her with a worried frown.

"I'm just scared that something bad will happen to you," Garth said looking deeply into Lilly's violet eyes. "I don't want to lose you." Lilly understood how he felt, but she knew a way to help the fear.

"Garth, I'm afraid too," she said softly, "but I know that we will be alright, because we have each other." Then Lilly leaned forward and connected her muzzle with Garth's, locking them into a deep kiss.

"Looks like somebody is getting a little happy," Lilly teased, as she pulled out of the kiss. Garth knew what she meant and he tried to hide his prize from her.

"Sorry about that," he said covering himself with his tail, "I just got lost in the moment with you." Lilly gave him a cute smile. "Garth, there is one thing I want to do with you before we leave tomorrow," she said.

"And what is that?" Garth asked, but he already knew what Lilly wanted.

"Would it be all right if we mated?" Lilly asked, a bit nervous about his response.

Garth kissed her again. "I was hoping that you would say that," he pulled away and automatically started kissing Lilly's neck. She closed her eyes to have a better experience. She let out soft moans and moved her head up to allow him to have more access. Lilly had never felt such passion as she and Garth mated for their first time. Soon the two of them became very tired from their first time together.

"Garth, I love you," Lilly said lying up against Garth's side. "I love you too, Lilly," Garth said. The two cuddled up and happy that they were so connected to each other. Their love for each other was stronger than that of any two mates. They slept together through the night, but as they slept peacefully together, a black wolf with red eyes stared at Lilly from the entrance of their den.

"When you two go north, Garth, you will die, and Lilly will be mine," he said to himself. "She will be mine."


	3. The train and dark past

The next morning, Lilly and Garth awoke to the warmth of the sun shining through their den.

"Lilly, did you sleep well?" Garth asked stretching out with a yawn. Lilly looked at him with a smile. "Yes, and I had a wonderful time last night," she said.

"So did I," Garth replied giving Lilly a kiss on the forehead. After that, the two of them ate some caribou for breakfast and went to meet with Humphrey and the others. As Humphrey waited for Garth and Lilly at the edge of the territory, Kate and his friends showed up.

"Hey, are you all set?" he asked with a smile. Kate looked at Salty, Shaky and Mooch, who gave her a nod. "Yes, we're all ready." Garth and Lilly arrived, and Shaky gave them each a flower necklace.

"Remember to treat our furry friends with respect," he said cheerfully, clapping his paws together. Garth and Lilly looked at him with unsure smiles. "Uh... yeah... sure thing, Shaky," Garth said shaking off the necklace.

Humphrey looked at the group of six, smiling he let out a deep sigh. "Guys, I could never ask you for anything like this," he said, "but if any of you want to stay that's all right with me." Everyone looked at one another, but no one said a word. Humphrey knew now that they all attended to go with him.

Without saying another word, everyone darted past trees, rocks, over logs and stumps, all making their way toward the train tracks. The sound of a train could be heard in the distance. If they hurried they would be able to get a ride up north, but if not, then they would have to walk the whole way. Within a few minutes, they all arrived at the train tracks and waited for the train to show up.

"I wonder if the wolves from your pack will remember you, Humphrey," Lilly said. Humphrey thought about that. Would they remember him or would they treat him like an outcast? "Lilly, they sent a messenger to your parents, so I'm sure they will remember Humphrey when they see him," Salty said.

"Maybe you're right," Humphrey admitted. The others smiled and looked at him, each trying to help him be ready for the trip north. "I just hope that their pack law allows alphas and omegas to mate," Mooch said. It was quite clear that he wanted an alpha for a mate, but it was doubtful that pack law in the north would do such a thing. Garth saw the way Mooch had his hopes up, and he wished him luck.

As everyone talked, Lilly got this strange feeling that they were being watched. She turned her head and looked behind the group, and standing behind them was a black wolf that she recognized too well. "Garth!" she cried, getting his attention. Garth jumped to his feet and turned to his panicked mate. "What! What is it?" he asked. Lilly held her paw out and pointed toward the hill behind them.

"It is Thatch!" she whimpered loudly. Garth turned to where Lilly was pointing but he saw nothing there, except a rock that looked like a wolf. "There's nothing there," he soothed gently. Lilly looked again, but saw only the big rock, but she knew he was there. "I'm sure it was Thatch... you have to believe me."

Humphrey looked at Lilly, but he didn't seem to believe her. "Lilly, Thatch was killed when your mom and dad threw him off the mountain," he said giving her a reassuring stare. Garth was a little confused though. "Who is this Thatch?" he asked. Everyone looked at him. Salty stepped forward, but was a little slow to speak, as if he was trying to explain omega jokes to a bear.

"Well, when Kate was in Alpha school, there was a black wolf with red eyes who was second in command of the western pack, but he was evil," Salty said. Garth looked at him with concern. "Just what did he do to get Eve and Winston after him?" he asked, not liking what might come next. "Thatch was always trying to woo Lilly, but she never liked to be around him and pack law kept it from happening. Every day he came to the den asking for her, but every time it was no. So one night when Lilly went to the lake for a drink, Thatch tried to take her by force."

"I don't want to hear any more," Garth said, before pulling Lilly close to him. "Garth, I know what I saw, it was Thatch," she whispered in his ear. He licked the side of her cheek, to calm her down a bit. "I believe you." he said softly.

Lilly felt really safe with Garth and knew that he would never let anyone or anything hurt her. Then the train came slowly around the tracks. "There it is," Kate called to the others. Everyone got ready to board it. They had to time it just right or they might get run over. Kate and Humphrey were the first to jump into an open box car, next was Lilly and Garth, last ones to jump would be Mooch, Salty and Shaky. The three omegas got into position as the last box car drew closer.

"Get ready," Salty said, eagerly awaiting for the right time to jump. "Set," Mooch said lowering himself to the ground. The box car was now within range of the omegas. "GO!" Shaky shouted. All three of them jumped with grace and style, but Mooch's landing could have been better. He wound up on top of Salty and Shaky, smothering them.

"Get your lard butt away from my face," begged Salty, as he tried to wiggle out from under Mooch. "Sorry you guys," Mooch apologized. As he got off of them, Shaky gasped for air, trying to get the awful smell of Mooch's pits out of his nose.

"Mooch, don't you ever take a bath?" Shaky complained, still gasping for air. Mooch looked rather offended by what Shaky said. "Hey, at least I don't eat berries just to get good with some certain omega females," he snapped back. "Take it easy you guys, it was just a little accident," Salty said stepping between the two before things got out of hand. There was a quick apology from each wolf and then the three omegas went to join their friends in the lead box car.

In the lead box car, Humphrey sat beside Kate as they watched Jasper park disappear behind the hills. "It feels different than coming back home... doesn't it?" Kate said leaning against her mate's shoulder. "It sure does," he replied softly. Salty, Shaky, Mooch, Garth and Lilly finally showed up in the lead box car.

"I think we are in for one major adventure," Garth said taking a seat behind his brother-in-law. Humphrey popped his neck. "Could be, but maybe it will be more then an adventure." Lilly looked around the box car, trying to find a place to sleep, because she felt really tired. There was some hay scatted in the corner of the car, so she made it into a little bed before falling fast asleep. Salty saw this and told the others not to make so much noise, but no one knew that a certain black wolf was on the train also.

"Looks like my prize is asleep," Thatch said cruelly as he peered through a small hole in the roof above Lilly. "Just you wait Lilly, we will be meeting real soon," he said with a dark smile. Just then smoke from the engine clouded around him. "This is going to be a long trip, I just know it."


	4. The train ride

As Lilly slept, nightmares haunted her. In her dream, Thatch was killing Garth, her friend's body was being devoured by black bears, and Thatch was forcing himself upon her. Lilly tried to get away, but he held her down and laughed at her feeble resistance.

"No!" Lilly screamed, as her eyes shot wide open. Garth saw how scared Lilly was, rushed over to her and tried to calm her down. "Lilly, it's all right," he soothed, running his paw down her back. "You just had a bad dream, that's all." Lilly looked at him, with tears running down her cheeks.

It was hard but she managed to choke out her dream. "I... I saw Thatch, he... he had killed you, and these black bears had killed everyone else." Garth realized that she was still suffering from past events. "What else did you see in your dream?" he asked. "Thatch was trying to force himself on me," she said, starting to cry really hard.

Kate and the others tried to calm her down, but Garth wanted them to stay back. So everyone left him with Lilly and went to the next box car. "I think that we should have left Lilly and Garth back in Jasper park," Shaky said quietly, as he threw a glance at Lilly and Garth. Humphrey quickly defended Lilly. "Do you know what Lilly has been through? I saw Thatch try to defile her when she was young," he snapped.

"I'm sorry, I was only thinking out loud," Shaky apologized quickly. "Very loud!" Kate said with a threatening growl, as she looked the small omega in the eye. "And I think that you need to watch what you say about my family." Shaky nodded his head in agreement and slunk off to the back of the box car.

Mooch and Salty looked at one another and shrugged. Soon everyone started to get really bored with nothing to do. Humphrey looked at his friends. "Do any of you guys feel like doing something right now?" he asked. Mooch thought for a minute. "How about playing a game?" he suggested. "How about 'go fish' you guys? I hear it's a real fun game," Salty chimed in, "or maybe there is something in these boxes we could play with." Humphrey watched as his friend began digging into a box.

"Salty, I don't think you should go through these boxes," Kate said stepping forward. She was bored like the others, but she knew better than to go through things that didn't belong to them, but it was too late. Salty had already pulled out a strange green bone. "Look what I got," he said proudly before biting down on it. The bone made a squeaking sound. Salty dropped the bone and stepped back, but the others stepped forward to study the strange thing their friend had found.

"What is it?" Shaky asked trying to get a good look at the bone. Humphrey decided to see if the squeaking sound would happen again, so he rested his paw on it and pushed down hard. The bone squeaked and he pressed down on it again and again. Soon everyone was playing with it and having a good time. They played keep away with it, catch and tug-of-war also.

As everyone played, Garth was busy talking with Lilly about her life before she met him, but he made sure not to mention Thatch. "So Lilly, what did you do after your sister left for Alpha school?" he asked. Lilly smiled, "I always tried to play jokes on Humphrey."

"Really, what kind of jokes?" Garth asked, wishing he could have seen Lilly pranking Humphrey. "Well, I once put ants on his fur when he was sleeping," Lilly said, giggling, "and he was running all over the den." Garth burst out laughing.

Lilly wanted to know more about Garth, so she asked about his mother. "I was wondering why I didn't see your mom at our wedding. Why have I never met your mom?" There was a brief silence before he sadly replied. "My mom died giving birth to me," he said softly. "My dad raised me and taught me everything I know, except for one thing." He felt his mate lean against his shoulder. "And what was that?" Lilly asked.

"How to love someone," he replied, with a smile. "You were the one that taught me that, Lilly." Lilly was happy that she was the one who brought happiness into his life. "I think its time to find something to eat," Lilly said, and Garth began looking for food.

Garth sniffed everyone of the boxes in the car, but found nothing until he came to the last box in the back. Whatever he smelled made his stomach growl louder. Garth pushed the box over and tore a big hole in the side of the box. Inside were all kinds of Little Debbies. "Lilly, take your pick," he offered. Lilly chose a box of oatmeal cream pies and Garth picked a box of Zebra cakes. The two of them ate until they could eat no more.

"Garth, can I ask you one more question?" Lilly asked, licking the crumbs off her paws. "Sure thing," Garth said burping loudly. "If I were to die, would you find another mate?" Garth was a little shocked, but he spoke from the heart. "If you were to die, I would live a solitary life, never going out unless I needed to find food. It would be lonely, but I would not care because my angel had faded away." Lilly was very happy to know that he would always love her and never think about another mate.

"Garth, what you said has made me very happy," she said sweetly, before giving him a kiss. "I'm glad that we had this talk," Garth said. That was when something smacked him in the side of the head with a loud squeak. Looking down he saw a green bone and knew where it came from. "Who threw this thing?!" he growled at the others.

Humphrey started whistling, trying not to look guilty, but Garth saw through his little act. "Hey, next time warn someone before you throw things," he said picking up the bone as he and Lilly entered the other box car before throwing it back at Humphrey. "You might hurt someone."

"I guess Garth is not into playing games," Mooch joked, catching the squeaky bone in his mouth. But before any of them could continue the game, a security guard came in to check the boxes. Instead of boxes he found himself looking at seven wolves.

"Jeff! Get my rifle," he cried. Humphrey and Kate didn't like the sound of that. It was time to leave this train and head the rest of the way on foot.


	5. I'm back and ready for war

As Humphrey and Kate quickly got everyone into the other box car, the guard came back with his rifle. The seven wolves were already jumping out of the box car when there was a loud bang. Garth felt a stinging pain in his back left leg and realized that he had been wounded. The bullet had only grazed his leg, but it was very painful.

"Garth! Are you all right?" Lilly asked worriedly, as she licked his wounded leg to ease the pain. "I'm okay," he said, but she didn't stop licking his injury until he was able to get back on his feet.

From a distance, Thatch saw that Garth had been wounded, which meant he would be easier to kill when he revealed himself to the group. Until then he would ride on ahead of them.

As Garth watched Lilly lick his wound, a round rock the size of a golf ball landed near Salty. The omega looked up to see Marcel and Paddy flying to meet them. "Right on cue, my friends," Marcel said cheerfully, but then saw blood on Garth. "What happened to your leg?"

"A human shot Garth as we were jumping off of the train," Shaky said. "My friends," Marcel said, after inspecting Garth's leg, "what you have is a nasty grazing wound, probably from a .45-40 round, judging from the way the wound looks." Mooch looked at him with astonishment. "How do you know so much about human weapons?" he asked.

Paddy smiled and answered Mooch's question. "Marcel loves to read 'guns and ammo' magazines... when he's not playing golf," he said, before getting bonked on the head by Marcel's golf club. "They don't need to know that I enjoy that kind of stuff," he said, walking away with his head held high. "Hey, wait, Marcel," Kate said, jumping in front of the goose, worried that Garth's wound would get infected if not treated. "We need to know where the nearest wolf pack is."

Marcel had been hearing from other birds was that there was a pack of wolves living on the mountains to the north, so he said, "Go straight toward the tallest mountain you see toward the north, and there you will see a large pack of wolves." Garth looked at Humphrey, then back at Marcel. "Great, but how long will it take us to get there?" he asked.

"Two days, maybe three at the most," Marcel said. But as Garth started forward, he found he couldn't walk when he put weight on his back leg. "You're not going anywhere anytime soon," Humphrey said, looking his brother in the eye. "I think we will stay here for the night, until your leg can heal." Lilly and the others agreed, for it was getting really late and Garth was out of action. So everyone began making a bed of dry leaves for their wounded alpha.

That night, Paddy helped Lilly gather herbs that could ease Garth's pain. The only light was from a lovely full moon. As they waited for Kate to bring food, Lilly went to a nearby stream to drink. She felt that someone was following her. "All right, you can stop playing around, Mooch," she said as she turned around.

"I gotta give the guy a good talking to," Lilly said. "And what would you say to him?" Thatch asked, with a wicked smile, as he materialized from behind a bush. Lilly was paralyzed with fear at the sight of Thatch, whose red eyes were fixed on her. "I see that you still remember me," he said as he walked toward her. Lilly backed away, too scared to make a sound.

"I missed you something awful," he teased. Lilly turned to run, but was blocked by three other wolves. Two of them had black fur and one was gray with a bad eye. "Lilly, I want you to meet some of my friends, Dax and his brother Tex, and Buck." Lilly turned to face Thatch, fear still gripping her mind. "Please leave me alone, Thatch," she begged, tucking her tail between her legs.

Thatch raised his paw in the air as if to strike her. Lilly turned her head away in fear, waiting for his claws to leave their mark, but instead, Thatch plucked a flower from the bush beside him and placed it gently in her hair. "Now I'm not going to do that yet because I'm going to give two choices." Lilly looked at him, shocked that he wasn't trying to force himself on her. "You can leave Garth and be my mate, or I can kill him and the others then make you my mate."

"No, you stay away from Garth," Lilly snapped, her anger starting to grow. Thatch smiled, thinking that she was going to leave Garth and go with him. "Good for you Lilly," he said, leaning in to whisper something into her ear. "I always knew you would chose to be my little pet."

Lilly's eyes shot wide open with rage and before Thatch knew what happened, she struck him across the face so hard that it left three very deep cuts on his cheek. Dax and the others watched in surprise as Thatch placed his paw on his wound.

"I will never be yours, because Garth has already claimed me as his mate!" she growled fearlessly. Thatch managed to keep calm, even though his cheek burned. "If he has claimed you, then why is there no bite wound on your neck?" he asked, noticing that there was no mark on her. "When your mother mated with your father, she was marked by him, so no other wolf could touch her," he said softly, pointing out the rules for claiming ownership. "I am going to kill Garth because you have said no to me, but I will give you until the night before mating season to decide whether or not you will be mine." Thatch looked at his boys and motioned for them to leave. Lilly watched as the four of them walked off, but Thatch had one last thing to say to her before he left.

"Lilly, if you get the idea to scratch me again..." he snapped his teeth at her with a growl, "I will kill them all very slowly and it will be on you," Thatch laughed. Lilly watched him leave, feeling rather proud of herself for standing up to him. "You'd better bring a lot more friends then," she said, walking back to the group.

Upon her return, Kate looked at Lilly with concern. "Lilly, I saw you with some strange wolves. Who were they?" Lilly looked at her sister and smiled. "It was just Thatch and some of his friends," she said calmly, acting if it was no big deal. Everyone froze and looked at her. "Thatch was here?!" Humphrey gasped. "If that psychopath did anything to hurt you, I'm going to track him down and kill him!" Garth snapped.

"I'm all right, but Thatch is going to need some TLC from the wound I gave him," Lilly boasted proudly. Everyone was shocked. Lilly had injured Thatch! "He also threatened to kill you all if I scratched him again."

On a hill that overlooked the group, Thatch watched Lilly closely and knew from the way she acted that she was telling her friends about him. "Lilly really has the heart of an alpha," he said, "but she will learn that I'm not the wolf you want to mess with, especially when I get angry." Dax shook his head. "Why do you even bother?" he asked, "I mean, you could have any female you want, so why do you continue to stalk her?"

"Ever since I first saw Lilly, I realized that if I were to have her as a mate, I would be in line to rule the western pack. Besides, she is the sexiest wolf around," he said. Dax was confused by his leader's reasoning. " You mean to say you have been doing all this just so you can take over the western pack?"

"Yes! Winston is a weakling!" Thatch shouted angrily. "He wanted peace with the eastern pack, even after they killed my brother and many others in a hunt. When Lilly is my mate and I am leader, I will destroy the eastern pack and then conquer the southern and northern packs."

Dax smiled at this. Taking over the other packs was an idea he liked. "Well then, when do we strike?" he asked. Thatch smiled at him. "As soon as Tex and Buck come back with my army. I will crush everything in my way."

In a valley to the east a few miles away from Thatch, Buck and Tex were gathering the black bears of the west and the exiles from other wolf packs. They were joining Thatch because he had promised them all the meat they could eat. It was the start of war that would long be remembered.


	6. Meeting Angel

The next morning, Garth felt no pain in his leg as he got to his feet. Looking around, he sniffed the air for any sign of Thatch near by, but his nose picked up nothing. Lilly was still asleep next to her sister. However, one of the group was not present. Mooch had left to find some food for the group.

Over the next hill, Mooch was trying to sneak up on a rabbit, but having a really hard time because he was so overweight. As he got close enough to his prey to jump it, Thatch suddenly appeared with a female wolf with light brown fur and the bluest eyes Mooch had ever seen. The rabbit tried to escape, but the female jumped on it and killed it. As Mooch slowly backed off, he stepped on a twig. Thatch turned and saw the omega trying to sneak away from him.

"Good work Angel," Thatch said, congratulating her on a successful kill. "Now, what do you think we should do with this fat omega?" he asked. Mooch took a defensive stance, but Thatch and Angel were alphas and he was nothing but an omega, a really fat one at that.

"If you two are going to take Lilly away from Garth, you will have to kill me first!" Mooch said with a threatening growl, but Thatch could smell the fear coming from him. He laughed at the omega standing before him, "I admire your bravery Mooch." Angel stepped forward. "You do have guts to stand up to the two of us," she stated, "but those guts will be all over the place when we are done with you." Thatch was in a hurry to check on his army. "Enough talk. Angel, kill him," he ordered. Then he walked off, leaving her alone with Mooch.

Angel growled fearsomely at Mooch and advanced toward him. Mooch got ready for her attack, but before she could move, a big log rolled down the hill and landed on top of her, pinning the enemy alpha beneath it. Thatch heard Angel's cries for help. Turning around, he spotted Garth and the others rushing to see if their friend was all right.

"Thatch!" she cried out, "help me." "Sorry Angel, you're on your own," he said, before disappearing behind the hill. Garth, Lilly, Kate and Humphrey were disgusted with him for leaving one of his own to die.

Angel looked at the wolves standing before her. "If you're going to kill me, then you better get it over with," she said, trying to wiggle out from underneath the log. But Kate had some sympathy for the trapped wolf and tried to reason with her. "We're not going to kill you," she said, "we will help if you promise not to hurt Mooch."

Angel was angry. Why protect an omega? They were losers, they couldn't hunt or fight and some of them even ate berries. She didn't want help from some omega-loving alpha. "Just go away!" she barked, "I would rather die." Shaky smiled. "What ever the lady wants," he mocked. "Let's just leave her here," Lilly said, "she doesn't want our help." The others thought for a minute and decided to leave her pinned. So everyone left except Mooch. He felt like he should help her.

Mooch walked over to one end of the log, put his front paw under it and began to lift. Angel was amazed by his strength. Mooch was fat alright, but under the fat was muscle. This caught the attention of Shaky and Salty, who informed the rest of the group. Everyone watched in awe as Angel was finally able to crawl out from under the log.

"Thanks," she said bitterly. "You're welcome," he panted, before dropping the log. "I always try to help those who are in need." Angel frowned. "Oh, really, and what about the ones who try to kill you?" she asked, walking off. Mooch answered, "I see all wolves as equals, whether they are alphas or omegas doesn't matter to me. Thatch however, will only see you as an omega if you go back to him, because you got beat by the pack I run with."

Angel thought about what Mooch said. Thatch had left her behind, because he cared only for himself. Where could she go now? Not back to her pack, for Angel had been banished for getting into a fight with the pack leader. Mooch saw how troubled she was and offered her a choice.

"You know, maybe you could stick with us until you can figure out what you want to do," Mooch said. "Are you crazy, Mooch?" Humphrey protested. "She is one of Thatch's goons." Angel looked away, not liking to be called a goon. "She will kill us and then take Lilly back to Thatch." Garth and Kate agreed with Humphrey, that there was no way they could trust a wolf who took orders from Thatch.

Marcel and Paddy looked at everyone arguing over what to do with Angel. This was pointless, they were wasting valuable time while Thatch would return soon with his army. It was time to end this needless debate. "Enough!" Marcel honked loudly. All eyes turned and stared at him. The goose looked rather angry. "I know you all don't trust this young lady, but it would be better to giver her a chance." His gazed turned to Humphrey and Kate, who were sitting beside Angel. "When I first met you two back in Idaho, I didn't even want to see if you were dangerous. But when you didn't eat me, I decided to give you a chance to prove me wrong about wolves being bloodthirsty killers."

Angel shook her head. "Why would they listen to you about these matters? You're just a goose."

"Because without me they would be lost," Marcel clarified, and he and Paddy chuckled. "Now what do you say?" Paddy asked, crossing his wings. "Should you give the lovely lady a chance or not?" Things stayed quiet for a bit. Humphrey let out a deep sigh.

"We will give her a chance," he said, but he looked at Angel with concern. "But if she gets any funny ideas on killing us while we sleep, I'll make sure that it will be the last thing she does." Kate and the others all agreed with him, and made their way toward the north. Angel looked over at Mooch who was walking next to her. "Thanks," she mumbled. "You're welcome," he replied softly with a smile. "I just wanted to help you." but that was only half true, Mooch didn't just want to help her, he also wanted to get to know her better.

Marcel and Paddy looked back at Angel and saw the way Mooch stayed by her side proved that he like her, but she didn't seem to have the same idea, instead, Angel was moving ahead of him to get away from the omega. "Looks like Mooch as a thing for the young lady," Marcel chuckled. Paddy smiled. "Indeed sir, it looks like he will even try to court her if he gets the chance."

Not far off was Thatch, he was lying to his followers about Angel running off and leaving the territory, but he also bit his paw to make it look like Garth or another one of his friends bit him in a fight. If things went the way he planned then he would be able to fool his army into thinking that he didn't leave Angel behind. Thatch's lie did indeed work and his army followed him on his conquest to take over the northern pack first before heading to the other packs.


	7. Returning to the north

As the group of ten made their way toward the north, they passed by some old pine trees that stood beside a bumpy dirt road. Humphrey began to get the feeling that he had been here before. He stopped for a minute to study the surrounding area. "Humphrey, what is it?" Kate asked. He began panting, as a memory from the past rose up.

_An amber furred wolf was playing with a baby gray wolf. Their names were Humphrey and Zelda. She was his older sister ._

"_Come on, Humphrey," Zelda barked playfully, tempting him with a long stick to play a game of tug of war. "You know that to become an alpha, you must have the will to fight." With a mighty tug, she yanked the stick from his mouth._

"_Zelda," whined Humphrey, "you mean." His sister looked at him with a frown, but a smile quickly followed "I'm mean, but it's my job." Humphrey started to cry, but Zelda tickled him with her tail until he started to laugh. Just then his little stomach growled. Both of them looked at each other. "Hungry! Hungry!" Humphrey whined._

_This was a problem for Zelda, for she was not allowed to leave Humphrey alone when there were humans about. But her baby brother was hungry. Luckily, there was a rabbit hole nearby so she could get him a rabbit snack before they had to go back to their pack. "Humphrey, be a good pup and stay right here," she said with a firm, but gentle tone. Humphrey licked his sister's nose. It was his way was saying yes to her. Zelda walked off, but a nearby human hunter had seen the pup and planned to capture him and take Humphrey to a zoo._

_As Zelda dug away at the rabbit hole, she suddenly heard her little brother's cries for help. She turned and saw him being loaded into a box on the back of the truck. "Humphrey!" she cried in horror, running as fast as she could, but the truck was pulling away. "Zelda! Mommy! Daddy!" Humphrey cried. The box had a small hole in it so he could see his sister. Zelda finally caught up to the truck and jumped onto the back._

"_Zelda!" Humphrey cried happily, as he saw his sister climbing toward him. "Humphrey, don't worry, big sister is..." that was the last thing Humphrey heard before there was a loud bang. His small ears rang and his vision blurred, but not enough to prevent the sight of his sister flying off the back of the truck and lying completely still in the middle of the road. "ZELDA!" he cried, as tears ran down his cheeks._

_As the truck took a sharp turn, the box Humphrey was in tumbled off the back and landed in the stream that would later take him to the western pack. "Zelda," he cried out once more, hoping that his sister would come and get him, but it never happened._

Humphrey's eyes were full of tears and Kate tried to comfort him with a hug. "I remember what happened to my older sister, Zelda. She died trying to save me," he choked. Garth joined in the hug. Soon everyone came up and hugged him except Angel. She felt sorry for him, but it was not her custom to cheer an omega up. "Humphrey," Shaky said, "Your sister was so brave that she will always live in your heart."

Humphrey felt better, because Shaky was right. Zelda would always be in his heart and now he had another sister, Lilly. "Thank you, all of you," he said. "I know that my old pack is now only half a day away." Everyone looked at him hopefully because they would be able to rest and meet his family.

Paddy and Marcel flew over. "We saw the northern pack and it is full of alphas and omegas. It's just past the stream after you go over that hill," Paddy said, flapping his wings excitedly. "However, there is one thing you will not like," Marcel sighed sadly. "What is it?" Humphrey asked, hoping that it had nothing to do with his parents. Marcel looked him in the eye. "We saw Thatch on the outskirts of the pack. He most likely was counting the number of wolves in the pack."

The group hurried to the stream, and almost ran into a hunting group of the northern pack returning from a successful hunt. Humphrey called out to them, "Hello there!" The hunting party turned and saw a number of unknown wolves standing at the edge of their territory. The lead alpha walked to the edge of the stream opposite to Humphrey. "Who are you? What pack do you come from?" he demanded.

"We come from the west," Humphrey answered, "and our pack is the united pack of the east and the west." The lead alpha scoffed at him, "Any wolf can claim to be from the east or west, but to claim that those two packs have joined together shows you are a fool or a trickster." Garth stepped forward, showing his teeth in a threatening manner to the other alpha. "My name is Garth; my father is Tony and he is pack leader of the east. You will show respect to my brother-in-law, Humphrey." The hunting party gasped in shock. Another alpha stepped forward; she looked at Humphrey from a distance.

"Come here, let me see if you are Humphrey," she demanded, ready to test his scent. When Humphrey crossed the stream, the female sniffed him all over and joyfully exclaimed, "Humphrey! You are alive and have come back to us at last!" The female turned to the alpha who had questioned them. "Black, go back and tell my mate that our son as returned." Humphrey's eyes opened wide with shock, as Salty, Mooch and Shaky rushed up to their friend's side. "Alright Humphrey," they cheered.

But Humphrey didn't hear them because his mind was on one thing right now-his mother. "Mom?" he asked, his voice almost a whisper, "is it really you?" His mother pulled him into a tight hug. "Yes, it is," she replied, trying very hard not to cry because she had not seen her son in over two years.

"Come, I will take you to your father and he will be so happy to see you," she said. Kate walked beside Humphrey until they saw the biggest alpha ever. "Terra, is it true that our son Humphrey has come back to us?" he asked. Terra looked at Humphrey with a joyful smile. "Yes, Clark, he has returned and will soon lead our pack."

"What!?" Humphrey and the others said in unison, unable to believe what they heard. "What is the matter with you?" Terra asked. "Humphrey, you should have no problem with this responsibility, because you are an alpha, just like your mate here," she said looking at Kate. Kate began to really worry now. What would they do if they found out that he was an omega? So she decided to lie about Humphrey's rank.

"Oh, yes, he will have no problem with me at his side," Kate said, with a fake smile. Terra and Clark both smiled back. "He seems to be a little on the small side for an alpha," Terra said, which gave Kate an idea. "Nothing a big feast won't help," she said. Clark like the idea. "Good, we will have a big feast, then we will see what our alpha son knows," he said, rushing off to gather all the pack members.

Salty looked at Kate with a frown "Kate, why did you lie about Humphrey being an alpha?" he asked, Kate looked at him. "I feared that if they knew the truth, Humphrey might be cast out on his first day here."

"Then what are we going to do?" Garth asked. "I mean, we can't keep on saying he is an alpha, because the pack will find out sooner or later." Angel agreed with him on the matter at hand. Lying only led to more lies, but she didn't want to see Humphrey get rebuked by his own family. "I guess we will just have to play along until they find out," she said, sitting next to Mooch.

This was not going to end well, but they all had to hide the truth for now. Angel was in her own bind because she knew about Thatch's plans and so far had said nothing to the others. The reason she had not told them was because she was afraid of being driven off—or worse, killed.


	8. How to deal with an Angel

Later that night, Angel acted a little distracted and upset. Mooch decided to see what was wrong. "Angel, is something bothering you?" he asked, sitting down next to her. She looked at him and smiled. "Yeah, just a little nervous being around so many new wolves," she lied, still keeping that smile on her face.

"Yeah, I'm a little nervous myself, but hey, I just go with the flow," he said. "But that's not what's bothering you, is it?" Angel looked at him, nodded and then left him alone. Mooch realized that she was hiding something but it wouldn't talk about it, so he decided to give her some time alone for now.

Angel walked past female wolves who watched her with friendly smiles, but the males had a twinkle in their eyes which meant they were finding her attractive. _What am I going to do__? _Angel thought sadly. _I mean, Mooch and his friends have been nice enough to let me come with them. I'll just tell them the truth._

As Angel walked slowly around the area, she smelled something that made the fur on her neck rise up. It was Thatch, spying on the northern pack. "I see that you are alright," he said, quietly coming out from behind some rocks. "I think it is time to ditch these losers and come back to your rightful place." Angel was bitter and angry that he assumed she was still loyal. "Ditch them? Like you did to me? Never!" she snapped. "I will stay here with them and you can tell your army that I am not coming back."

Thatch gave an evil smile. "They think you left me to die when Garth showed up and attacked us on our little hunt the other day," he said calmly. "Maybe I'll tell them that I found you trying to join up with Garth, because you have fallen for a certain fat omega." Angel could not believe that he was going to spread lies about her. "I don't have feelings for him, but he is a thousand times better than you, even if he is an omega!"

Thatch frowned darkly. "Well, I'm sad that it had to come to this, Angel." Before Angel could react, Thatch quickly but brutally knocked her against a tree. "When I go back to my army, I'll just say that this pack murdered you," he said, bringing his claw across Angel's muzzle, causing her to yelp in pain.

Thatch held Angel down so she could not escape. "This is the moment you will die alone and in pain," he laughed, scoring Angel with his claws. Already there were deep scratches across her chest, stomach and arms.

Angel tried to break away, but was beginning to lose consciousness. She felt each cold, unforgiving, hard claw penetrate her delicate skin and felt her eyes droop more and more. Angel prayed to have the pain stop but doubted it would happen.

Not far off Mooch had been looking for Angel but so far he had not seen her. When a cry of pain reached his ears, he recognized her voice and rushed to save her. _Please don't let her be dead!_ Mooch thought fearfully, as he drew near the sound of her cries.

Thatch put his claws on Angel's throat, ready to end her life.

"Angel, I'm coming!" Mooch yelled, but he wasn't alone. With him were four other alphas who had also heard her cries of pain.

Thatch looked at Angel, who was barely moving. _She'll die from her injures before she can talk, _he thought, running into the woods. Mooch finally made it to Angel, his eyes burning with tears as he looked upon her injured body. Her breathing was very shallow and it was a miracle that she was still alive.

"Angel!" Mooch cried, "Hang on, these alphas will get you to their healer." He held Angel tightly and would not let go of her.

"Mooch," she coughed, gasping for air. "I'm done for." But Mooch would not listen to her. "No Angel, I'll take care of you myself if I have to!" he said desperately trying to clean her wounds, but it was a lost cause. He had no skill in healing.

"M-M-Mooch... you... can't help... me," Angel groaned weakly, "but you can help your friends. I... I want you to know that any female would love to have you as a mate." Then she whispered something in his ear. "Thatch did this to me. He plans... plans... to..." but fainted before she could finish.

"No! Angel, I'm going to save you no matter what!" Mooch shouted in defiance. He picked Angel up and placed her on his back as he followed the alphas to the pack healer.

As the feast held in Humphrey's return was starting, one of the alphas that had gone with Mooch approached Clark from behind, but he seemed really tense and his leader noticed.

"What is it?" he asked. The alpha leaned in and whispered the bad news to. Clark's ears shot up and his eyes grew wide. "You're sure that it wasn't a bear?" he asked. The alpha shook his head. "Mooch said it was a rogue wolf named Thatch who attacked her," he said, turning to look at Humphrey who was eating some deer leg with Kate. "Should we tell him about the attack?"

Clark shook his head. "No, let's not say anything to my son right now," he said. "Sir, they need to know what happened to her," the alpha protested, but was silenced with a fierce growl. "I don't want to start a panic." With that, the alpha left Clark alone.

Clark called to his attention all who were at the feast. "Brothers and sisters, a long time ago Terra and I had two wonderful children, a boy and girl," he said loudly, as he smiled for all to see. "One of them was lost, but has now returned to us. He will lead us in a great and glorious future!" All the wolves howled in celebration.

Terra stepped up and addressed the wolves. "In order for him to lead us, Humphrey must past three tests that will show us his wisdom in leadership, his skill in hunting, and strength in battle," she said proudly. Humphrey began to worry. He knew how to lead, but his hunting was not that great. However, he didn't know a thing about fighting. In his whole life, Humphrey had never fought with anyone, and was sure he would get his tail kicked tomorrow during the tests.

In a small den, Mooch sat next to Angel, refusing to leave even when the healer told him to. He had fallen in love with her. It was hard to watch her suffer, but she was a fighter. Angel's breathing became stronger, but she was still close to death.

"Angel, if you can hear me I want you to know that I like you... a lot," he said, brushing her fur softly with his paw. "When I find Thatch, I'm going to tear his black heart out of him and shove it down his throat." And for the rest of the night, Mooch stayed with Angel, never leaving the den except to gather herbs that the healer needed.

Thatch's best wolf Dax began to wonder why the northern pack would murder Angel. That pack was a peaceful one, and it made no sense. So Dax decided to sneak into the northern pack and see if Thatch was telling the truth, but it would have to wait until his leader went to see Lilly on the night before mating season.


End file.
